O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
Comment: Indignation in my dictionary is defined as ‘anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean’. We see in this passage both the cause and effect of God’s indignation. The cause is David’s sin. The effect is graphically described as if God has driven arrows into David’s flesh, the wounds are infected and the infection spread into all David’s body systems leaving him ‘in extremis’. He starts asking God to stop His judgement on him but he is honest enough to say that it is his own fault. He confesses his sin. It will be interesting to see where the psalm leads us but confession and humility before God are always a good place for us to start in our relationship with our Maker.
Prayer: Help me to be conscious of and sensitive to Your assessments of me, O Lord. Teach me humility and confession, please.
As I read it! 